TEHRAN, Aug. 19 (MNA) – The secretary of Supreme National Security Council has praised reforms introduced by Iraqi President Heidar al-Ebadi into Iraqi politics. Ali Shamkhani who was receiving the Head of the Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq Ammar al-Hakim on Tuesday, said that the reform was a necessary response to public demands and garnered Iraqi parliament approval and the religious clerical order, and would abort some efforts to weaken Iraq’s sovereignty. Shamkhani, who also represents the Leader of the Islamic Republic in the SNSC, praised Iraqi government and people for their shrewdness and protecting the country’s territorial integrity against foreign conspiracies well-entrenched to deplete Iraqi huge natural resources; “Iraq is the best example of peaceful symbiosis of Shia, Sunni, and other denominations; a strong will to serve this people should come along with a will to fight terrorism,” he told his Iraqi guest.

“ISIL is a political pretext working to create political and religious divide to secure the interests of the Zionist regime; the partnership of Baathist circles and terrorists clearly show that the claims made by the propaganda machinery is inaccurate, and that the nature of the conflict in Iraq is by no means religious,” said Shamkhani, emphasizing that it was a grand scheme to eliminate Iraq from the axis of resistance.

“The US does not really seek elimination of the ISIL; rather, it uses ISIL as a propaganda instrument to sell to the countries in the region its long-term presence; in confronting this, the Iraqi governemtn and people should use all the countries resources, especially popular forces to uproot the present regional threat,” Shamkhani asserted. “The US training and supporting new terrorist groups in Syria was a debacle in conduct, since they joined Al-Qaeda and refused to fight against their co-terrorists; it was also a clear testimony to the fact that the US has abused terrorism to guarantee its interests in the region,” he added.

“Nuclear negotiations, backed by public support and authorities’ consensus, will be a symbol of resistance against bully and excessive demands; the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue its pure ideals of the Revolution, the most important of which is support resistance and fighting evil objectives of the Zionist regime,” he told al-Hakim.

Al-Hakim, for his part, provided a general report of the latest development in Iraq; “Iraq will stand against foreign plots which plan to widen the religious gap between different groups,” he added, expressing gratitude for the support by the Leader of the Islamic Republic in fighting terrorism and improving peace and security in Iraq.